Handle-bar.



NITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

JAMES T. MCGUIRE, OF ALBION, MICHIGAN.

HANDLE-BAR.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 663,195, dated December 4, 1900.

Application filed .T anuary 19, 1900. Serial No. 13983; (No model.)

To al?, whom it' may concern." O

Be it known that l, JAMES T. MGGUIRE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Albion, in the count-y of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Handle-Bars, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new' and useful improvements in adjustable handle-bars of that class in which the baris adapted to break in the center to obtain the desired adjustment; and the invention has for its object to make a bar that is readily adjustable while in motion without requiring the operator-s hands to be placed in any unusual position and to make a bar that is strong, simple, and positive in its opera-tion; and to this end the invention consists in so constructing the locking means for the handle-bars that they may be raised or lowered and automatically locked in any desired position without the necessity of set-screws, cams, or levers.

The invention further consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which* Figure l is a front elevation of the handlebar with the front cheek-plate and a portion of the steering-post broken away. Fig. 2 is a section ou line 0c x, Fig. 1. Fig. i is a section on line z z, Fig. l. p

In the drawings, A is the handle-bar support or upright having at its upper end the two cheek-plates a ct.

B B are the handle-bars, having flattened circular portions l) at their inner ends provided with gear-teeth c on a portion of their periphery. These flattened portions of the handle-bar are pivotally secured between the two cheek-pieces d a by means of suitable pivot-pins or collar-screws d, suitable aperturesbein g provided in the cheek-plates and the adjacent portions of the handle-bar for the reception of these pivot-pins. The gearteeth c on the adjacent ends of the handlebars mesh with each other, so that if one bar is raised or lowered the other will move simultaneously therewith.

C is a spring-actuated locking-dog having a shank e guided in the bore f of the steer'- ing-post, and g is a coil-spring contained in said bore adapted to press against the lower end of the shank of the locking-dog.

h h are notches out in the under side of the flattened portions b b ofthe handle-bars, preferably three in number, and it' are teeth on the head of the locking-dog adapted to engage with said notches to positively hold the handle-bars in any of their adj usted positions.

D is a plate fitting over the top of the meeting ends of the handle-bar and a portion of one of the cheek-plates d and having at its lower end a lug or projection j, adapted to travel in a slot k, formed in said cheek-plate, and Z is a screw rigidly connecting said plate with the locking-dog through the medium of the lugj. m is a guide pin or screw to hold the upper end of said plate in place.

Having thus fully described my invention, it is intended to operate as follows: Supposing the bar to be dropped from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, while under way. The operator presses with the palm of his hand upon the plate D, thus releasing the lockingdog from engagement with the notches, and with one inger under each. bar allows the same to drop until the dog automatically en"- gages with the next notch, the bar thus being positively locked in position.

It will be seen that my bar may be readily adjusted by means of but one hand, and any rider who has at all become proficient in riding can adjust the bar in an instant While under full headway.

While I have shown the handle-bar support as made solid, I wish it understood that I may make the same of the ordinary tube and plug the end; also, the number of adjusting-notches may be varied to suit the wishes of the rider or style of bar used.

What l claim as my invention is In a two-part handle-bar for cycles having said dog and having a guide-lug j traveling inthe slot lc formed in one of the plates a', I and the guide-pin m,

I In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES T. MGGUIRE.

Witnesses:

FRANK N. AUSTIN, WILLIAM S. PRICE. 

